Oat flour chocolate chip cookies that are made entirely with “regular” grocery store ingredients—and no rice flour at all. Cheaper than an all purpose gluten free flour, and these cookies have an extra special chewiness you'll love!
Why are these the best naturally gluten free oat flour cookies?
These cookies are the best because of how “ordinary” they are. They're just regular thick and chewy drop cookies made with that classic combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar—but they're the perfect shortcut to a gluten free cookie.
These naturally gluten free cookies taste like “regular” chocolate chip cookies, even though they're made without any rice flour. But they're not flourless, either, which usually makes cookies that are super crispy like flourless fudge cookies or super dense like flourless peanut butter cookies.
Other than the deep, familiar flavors of brown sugar and chocolate chips, these cookies have a really neutral flavor palate. Swap the vanilla extract for another favorite, like almond extract, and you've got a whole new cookie.
Tips for how to make these naturally gluten free cookies
Whether you’re new to gluten free baking, new to baking at all, or you just want a cookie and ran out of your GF flour blend, a drop cookie (where you just make the dough and bake it in rounded portions on a baking sheet) is the perfect baking project.
The best flour for oatmeal flour chocolate chip cookies
These cookies aren’t technically made “flourless” since they have cornstarch in them to lighten them a bit and help them crisp. Plus, we take certified gluten free old fashioned rolled oats and grind them into flour.
You can, of course, buy gluten free oat flour that’s already ground, but you’d likely have to order that by mail—something I never do.
These days, Bob’s Red Mill certified gluten free old fashioned rolled oats are in almost every full-sized grocery store. It’s cheaper to buy less processed oats and just grind them into gluten free oat flour, though.
Plus we’re making cookies that we want to be chewy, so we don’t need the finest grind in our oat flour. If that's important to you, though, either use store-bought gf oat flour, or just grind your oats in smaller batches, and for longer.
Ramp up the flavoring
(and explain why using oat flour and corn starch requires using more flavoring)
A full tablespoon of flavoring/extracts for flavor is indispensable to the taste of these cookies. We are using a lot of oat flour and a fair amount of cornstarch, and they both have very neutral flavors, even after baking.
I’ve made these cookies with just vanilla extract, but I really love them the best with 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of butter flavoring.
Chill the oat flour cookie dough
We make this cookie dough with melted butter, since it can be very difficult for it to come together if the butter is at room temperature. And we don't want to whip room temperature butter since that introduces more air into the cookies, and they'll be lighter, less chewy.
As a result, once you've made the cookie dough, it will be very soft. If you bake it without chilling it, your cookies will spread too much in the oven.
If you have the time, try chilling the prepared oat flour cookie dough for a few days, wrapped tightly. That will help the flours
Avoid overbaking these oat flour chocolate chip cookies
Since cookies made with a combination of oat flour and cornstarch don't brown as quickly as cookies made with an all purpose gluten free flour, we have to bake these cookies at a relatively high temperature of 375°F/190°C.
Be sure not to overbake them. Just take them out of the oven once they're set in the center and brown on the edges.
Then, let them set on the baking sheet. They'll be crispy on the edges and chewy toward the center.
How to store these chocolate chip oat cookies
These cookies have just the right amount of moisture that they can be stored in a sealed glass container at room temperature for at least 5 days without losing texture or flavor. You can also freeze them in a sealed container for much longer, and even store them in the refrigerator for over a week.
Substitutions, Variations, and Additions for this oat flour chocolate chip cookie recipe
Dairy free oat flour cookies
In place of the butter, you can try using half (48 g) Earth Balance buttery sticks and half (48 g) Spectrum brand nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening. That combination of fats should create the right moisture balance. Be sure you're using dairy-free chocolate chips.
Egg free oat flour cookies
You can try replacing each of the two eggs with a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel), but the eggs really help to provide structure in this recipe so I'm not sure how egg replacements would work.
Corn-free oatmeal flour cookies
The cornstarch in this recipe can easily be replaced with arrowroot if you can’t have corn. Potato starch (not potato flour) should also work just fine.
“Oatless” oat flour cookies
Certified gluten free oats are safe on a gluten free diet. But if you’re avoiding oats, you should be able to use quinoa flakes in place of the oat flour. Please see my full discussion of how to replace oats in baking.
Flavor Add-In Ideas
Try customizing the taste and texture of these cookies with just a few tweaks to the flavoring extract and the mix-ins. Here are some of my favorite variations:
- Chopped walnuts or pecans in place of some or all of the chocolate chips
- Peanut butter, butterscotch, or white chocolate morsels in place of some or all of the chocolate chips
- Almond extract, butter flavoring, or even citrus extract in place of some or all of the vanilla extract
FAQ
Can I use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar in these cookies?
You can try using coconut palm sugar in place of light brown sugar in these cookies. Since it tends to have a very coarse grind, just pulse it in your blender or food processor before adding it to the mixing bowl.
Can I use coconut flour instead of cornstarch?
No! Coconut flour is a unique type of flour. It should only be used in recipes that are designed specifically to be made using it.
Can I use coconut oil instead of butter for these cookies?
Yes! You can use virgin coconut oil, the type that's solid at cool room temperature, in place of butter in these cookies. If you want to avoid any hint of coconut flavor, use triple filtered virgin coconut oil.
Should I use dark chocolate chips or milk chocolate?
I really like these cookies best with dark chocolate chips, or at least semi-sweet chocolate chips. But you can use milk chocolate chips, for a sweeter cookie.
Why are my oat cookies grainy?
If your cookies have a grainy texture, your oat flour may be too coarsely ground. Try grinding it again before baking with it, or purchase gluten free oat flour, already ground.
Why did my oat cookies spread so much?
If your cookies didn't hold their shape during baking, the cookie dough may have been too warm. If you measured by weight, not volume, so your ingredients are in the proper proportion, they shouldn't spread too much if the cookie dough is firm to the touch before it goes into the oven.
Why are my oatmeal flour cookies so crumbly?
You may have overmeasured your cornstarch, which would absorb too much moisture in the cookies. You may have also overbaked the cookies, leaving them too crispy.
How to make oat flour chocolate chip cookies, step by step
Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies | Naturally Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (210 g) certified gluten free oat flour (I grind my own from GF rolled oats)
- 1 cup (140 g) cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
- 7 tablespoons (96 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 ounces chocolate chips semi-sweet, dark, or milk chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set them aside.
- In a large bowl, place the oat flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the brown sugar and mix to combine, working out any lumps.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, eggs, and vanilla, and mix to combine. The dough will be very thick, but just keep mixing, pressing the dough down with the bowl of the spoon sometimes while mixing.
- Add the chocolate chips and mix until they’re evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
- Divide the dough into pieces of about 1 1/2 tablespoons each, roll each tightly into a ball and then place about 1 1/2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Do not flatten the balls of dough at all.
- Chill the dough in the freezer for about 10 minutes or the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, until firm.
- Place the baking sheets, one at a time, in the center of the preheated oven and bake just until the balls of dough have melted and spread, and the cookies are brown around the edges (10 to 12 minutes). Be careful not to overbake them.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet or until firm.
Notes
Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies | Naturally Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (210 g) certified gluten free oat flour (I grind my own from GF rolled oats)
- 1 cup (140 g) cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
- 7 tablespoons (96 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 ounces chocolate chips semi-sweet, dark, or milk chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set them aside.
- In a large bowl, place the oat flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the brown sugar and mix to combine, working out any lumps.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, eggs, and vanilla, and mix to combine. The dough will be very thick, but just keep mixing, pressing the dough down with the bowl of the spoon sometimes while mixing.
- Add the chocolate chips and mix until they’re evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
- Divide the dough into pieces of about 1 1/2 tablespoons each, roll each tightly into a ball and then place about 1 1/2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Do not flatten the balls of dough at all.
- Chill the dough in the freezer for about 10 minutes or the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, until firm.
- Place the baking sheets, one at a time, in the center of the preheated oven and bake just until the balls of dough have melted and spread, and the cookies are brown around the edges (10 to 12 minutes). Be careful not to overbake them.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet or until firm.
Notes
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Leave a Reply